Just bought a couple of motors. Does the post need to be shaved flat, or will my original gear just slip on?
Thanks,
Marty from muggy S. Florida

u need this http://goo.gl/j6Vcbl to pull the gear from the old motor and place it on the new motor. just be careful not to break the plastic casing when getting to the motor. Just be patient and take your time. it took me close to 20 minutes to crack on actuator open

After going through this whole thread I have a pretty good idea of what to do. The only question I have is regarding the worm gear inside the actuator. It reminds me alot of the worm gear used in a garage door opener, which is supposed to be lubed generously with white Lithium grease when replaced.

Should this worm gear be lubed with Lithium grease when changing the motor and resealing the actuator?

After going through this whole thread I have a pretty good idea of what to do. The only question I have is regarding the worm gear inside the actuator. It reminds me alot of the worm gear used in a garage door opener, which is supposed to be lubed generously with white Lithium grease when replaced.

Should this worm gear be lubed with Lithium grease when changing the motor and resealing the actuator?

Thanks.

When i did mine they were still pretty lubbed! I just left them as they were.. But it wont hurt to put some on there while you're at it.

Just completed the job on our RX300 2001. Had a real hard time with the pink clip mounting to the silver rod. Quick tip make sure the silver rod is on the opposite side of the plastic from the gold rod makes a big difference. Also don't forget the screw under the arm rest caused us to make a small crack in the door panel.

I did a rear door on my 2000 in 2010. Posted on page 34. Worked great for 4 years. Now my kid is using this care for 1 or 2 more years and the locks are not workinbg. I can't believe how long this thread is!

All the locks actuate-- try to lock then unlock a few seconds later. I think just do all four now based on trying the inside auto lock. I referred to a motor someone mis-posted in skimming this thread again that was wrong and doesn't fit when I did the driver's door yesterday. Fortunately had one motor from the repair 4 years ago. The problem is I had removed the coupler with the gear puller on ebay, put it on the wrong motor before realizing it was incorrect motor, removed it and now the coupling is not snug on a new motor.

Can anyone suggest what glue or epoxy might best work to hold the coupling? It taps down but is clearly not snug enough. I see on ebay you can by the actuator motor casing assembly only now for about $25 and maybe that is the solution for that door?

Thanks again to all who contributed. I did this to one rear door 4 years ago on my 01 GS300. Then last month it seemed like all the doors were going. The locks using the fob or door switch would try locking then unlock, leaving some doors locked with varying results and weird things happing withe the arm getting set when doors were unlocked. Ended up doing all four. Much easier after you've done a couple. I did screw up one actuator motor spindle and found on ebay you could buy a new one specific to particular door for $26.

Thanks again to all who contributed. I did this to one rear door 4 years ago on my 01 GS300. Then last month it seemed like all the doors were going. The locks using the fob or door switch would try locking then unlock, leaving some doors locked with varying results and weird things happing withe the arm getting set when doors were unlocked. Ended up doing all four. Much easier after you've done a couple. I did screw up one actuator motor spindle and found on ebay you could buy a new one specific to particular door for $26.

I just installed one of the Chinese actuators off of ebay on saturday. It's working fine so far. I guess I'll see how long it last. I still have an OEM one that I need to install in one of the rear doors.

I wanna thank the OP for making this thread. Made life a little easier.

I just tackled this job but I ordered the whole lock assembly from Toyota. I didn't go through all 70+ pages of the thread but figured I should mention to who ever is planning on doing this DOES NOT need to remove the window to get the driver door latch assembly out.

Basically do exactly as the OP has said except instead of removing the whole window + regulator all you need to do is loosen the one bottom left window track bolt. You can simply just wiggle the track out of your way to get the latch assembly out.

You still need to remove the outter door handle. 3 bolts, remove the two door rods and voila....it's out.

Had it in and out in about 1.5 hours. Factoring in a smoke break and having someone stop by for 10 mins.